Food and fertility
A healthy, balanced diet is important when you're trying to conceive. Find out the best foods to eat when trying for a baby, and make sure you're getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Meet other mums!
In your Birth Club, you can meet other mums and mums-to-be whose due date, or baby's birth date, is the same as yours. It's the perfect place to share advice, support and friendship with others who know what you're going through, because they are too!

Hold in arms across chest, whilst walking and rocking
Baby bouncer
Walk in pram
Walk with carrier
Drive somewhere
Play music or loud white noise
Put on tummy and rub back
Take out in garden, in pram or bouncer etc – fresh air helps

Read books. Lay in cot, cover with blanket, kiss and leave the room. Oh, and leave to cry if needed.

Thankfully, the ‘leaving to cry‘ has become few and far between. To get to this point though, leaving my darling little boy to cry was exactly what was needed. Whilst pregnant, I read through many books, each claiming to have the ‘best’ method for solid and sound sleep in babies. My husband and I felt the ‘gentler’ methods would be most appropriate, and we wanted to avoid allowing our baby to cry as far as possible.

Fast forward eight months, and one frustrated and fickle mummy holds her hands up and admits to being a fully paid member of the controlled crying club. New books were ordered and read, and the technique applied in earnest at both bed and nap time.

At first, I found it difficult to listen to my little boy cry but in retrospect, I am so glad that we stayed strong and consistent. Atticus cried for a maximum of half an hour for the first few nights, gradually dwindling so that by the end of the first week he was settling at bed and nap time with no difficulty.

I know that this method is quite controversial but I fully subscribe to the principles of the technique. Babies need to learn to self settle and solid and undisturbed sleep is so important for good health and development. I always knew that Atticus was well fed, warm and dry, and that the cries were not due to any pain or illness. As a parent, it is our responsibility to model and teach good habits, and this includes learning to sleep well.

Plus, the long stretches of undisturbed sleep at night have done me the world of good. And happy mummy equals happy baby!

Recent posts

I think: no judgement. Each family unit is unique and controlled crying or attachment parenting or Gina Ford or Marc Weissbluth or anything or anyone else are all perfectly acceptable. At the end of the day you are parenting for the rest of your life. It’s a long game. Starting with good sleep is just that: a starting point. Not a reason to start a witch hunt or a competitive who’s the best/ worst parent game. They all grow up and we all do the best we can. I’m glad you found a way that works for you and your family.

http://Babycentre Elsa

I’ve used this method with all four of my children. I’ve had to simply because I could see a habit formed in my first niece of having to constantly be picked up in order to sleep. My sister didn’t allow her to self soothe and, well, the child slept in my sister’s arms every night till the age of three and a half. I could see the same thing starting with my twins. They were my first babies and if course all I wanted to do was hold them thinking that was the best thing to do. Two months into complete sleepless nights and then having to dangerously look after them in the day in a state of sleep deprived was too much for me. I had to do something and so I followed my instincts.

And after ensuring all of the above was fine, I let them cry. It was horrible to listen to because their screams were ear piercing and it sounded like they were in pain but I knew they weren’t. They’d simply gotten used to me soothing them in my arms. That screaming lasted about a good week and a half. They learned very quickly that it was bed time and that meant time for rest. They’re now eighteen years old and no harm has come to them due to using this method.

Rose

I think if it feels terrible to leave them to cry then just listen to your heart. Babies cry to communicate their needs, we shouldn’t ignore them, perhaps they just need to be near their mummy.

Special Offers from Our Partners

Hot Topic

Are you as bonkers about baby names as we are? We love finding out what our members are naming their little ones. There’s some interesting choices this month – how about Oceana for a girl, or Enzo for a boy? My personal favourite has to be the beautiful Elspeth. A classic girls’ name! See all… Read more »

This internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult a doctor or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.